Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation Improves the Intestinal Health of Offspring Porcine by Promoting the Proliferation and Differentiation of Intestinal Stem Cells
Maternal folic acid intake has important effects on offspring growth and development. The mechanism involved in the renewal of intestinal epithelial cells remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the potential effect of maternal folic acid supplementation during gestation and lactation...
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| author | Yuhui Zhang Xiaofeng Zhang Jianjun Chen Shouchuan Jiang Yu Han Huahua Du |
| author_facet | Yuhui Zhang Xiaofeng Zhang Jianjun Chen Shouchuan Jiang Yu Han Huahua Du |
| author_sort | Yuhui Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Maternal folic acid intake has important effects on offspring growth and development. The mechanism involved in the renewal of intestinal epithelial cells remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the potential effect of maternal folic acid supplementation during gestation and lactation on the structural and functional development of the small intestine in piglet offspring. Twenty-four Duroc sows were assigned to a control group (CON) and a folic-acid-supplemented group (CON + FA, supplemented with 15 mg/kg of folic acid). The results showed that maternal folic acid supplementation throughout gestation and lactation significantly increased the body weight, serum folate level, and intestinal folate metabolism in piglets. It also improved the villus length, villus height-to-crypt depth ratio, and transcript levels of nutrient transporters (GLUT4, SNAT2, FABP2, and SLC7A5) in piglets’ duodenum and jejunum. In addition, maternal folic acid supplementation increased Ki67-positive cells and the expression of proliferation-related marker genes (C-Myc, CyclinD1, and PCNA) in piglets’ intestinal stem cells. It also boosted the expression of genes associated with mature secreted cells (ChrA, Muc2, Lyz, Vil1), indicating enhanced proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells. These findings demonstrate that maternal folic acid supplementation enhances growth performance and gut health in piglet offspring by promoting epithelial cell renewal equilibrium. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:50:15Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:50:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-199c06706f484ac1bac04a18eb22c6c42023-11-19T14:00:07ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-10-011319309210.3390/ani13193092Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation Improves the Intestinal Health of Offspring Porcine by Promoting the Proliferation and Differentiation of Intestinal Stem CellsYuhui Zhang0Xiaofeng Zhang1Jianjun Chen2Shouchuan Jiang3Yu Han4Huahua Du5Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science (Eastern of China), College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, ChinaInstitute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310004, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science (Eastern of China), College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science (Eastern of China), College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science (Eastern of China), College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science (Eastern of China), College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, ChinaMaternal folic acid intake has important effects on offspring growth and development. The mechanism involved in the renewal of intestinal epithelial cells remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the potential effect of maternal folic acid supplementation during gestation and lactation on the structural and functional development of the small intestine in piglet offspring. Twenty-four Duroc sows were assigned to a control group (CON) and a folic-acid-supplemented group (CON + FA, supplemented with 15 mg/kg of folic acid). The results showed that maternal folic acid supplementation throughout gestation and lactation significantly increased the body weight, serum folate level, and intestinal folate metabolism in piglets. It also improved the villus length, villus height-to-crypt depth ratio, and transcript levels of nutrient transporters (GLUT4, SNAT2, FABP2, and SLC7A5) in piglets’ duodenum and jejunum. In addition, maternal folic acid supplementation increased Ki67-positive cells and the expression of proliferation-related marker genes (C-Myc, CyclinD1, and PCNA) in piglets’ intestinal stem cells. It also boosted the expression of genes associated with mature secreted cells (ChrA, Muc2, Lyz, Vil1), indicating enhanced proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells. These findings demonstrate that maternal folic acid supplementation enhances growth performance and gut health in piglet offspring by promoting epithelial cell renewal equilibrium.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/19/3092folic acidfolatematernal nutritionproliferationdifferentiationintestinal stem cells |
| spellingShingle | Yuhui Zhang Xiaofeng Zhang Jianjun Chen Shouchuan Jiang Yu Han Huahua Du Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation Improves the Intestinal Health of Offspring Porcine by Promoting the Proliferation and Differentiation of Intestinal Stem Cells Animals folic acid folate maternal nutrition proliferation differentiation intestinal stem cells |
| title | Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation Improves the Intestinal Health of Offspring Porcine by Promoting the Proliferation and Differentiation of Intestinal Stem Cells |
| title_full | Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation Improves the Intestinal Health of Offspring Porcine by Promoting the Proliferation and Differentiation of Intestinal Stem Cells |
| title_fullStr | Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation Improves the Intestinal Health of Offspring Porcine by Promoting the Proliferation and Differentiation of Intestinal Stem Cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation Improves the Intestinal Health of Offspring Porcine by Promoting the Proliferation and Differentiation of Intestinal Stem Cells |
| title_short | Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation Improves the Intestinal Health of Offspring Porcine by Promoting the Proliferation and Differentiation of Intestinal Stem Cells |
| title_sort | maternal folic acid supplementation improves the intestinal health of offspring porcine by promoting the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells |
| topic | folic acid folate maternal nutrition proliferation differentiation intestinal stem cells |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/19/3092 |
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